The folks at Manhattan Wardrobe Supplies teamed up with Becca Noel to show how you can use Jacquard’s PearlEx powders with Crystal Art to create your own stones for cosplay and props that don’t rely on toxic and time consuming resin!
Using a Cricut with Worbla – Video
The talented Downen Creative Studios has discovered that Worbla products can be cut using a Cricut – the trick is multiple cuts!
They put together these fantastic videos explaining the process and settings they use to cut Worbla products with their Cricut machine.
The first video covers Black Art and TranspArt:
The second video covers Pearly Art and Kobracast Art
And this is a handy chart showing settings used for Worbla and other cosplay materials! Click to enlarge.
Easy Mold & Cast with Worbla’s Pearly Art – Video
If you’re creating a piece with a lot of details that are mirrored, it can be frustrating to make sure everything is even on both sides. Gladzy Kei needed a lot of matching designs for her armored Esmerelda design – so she’s shared her process of creating designs from pearly art, then using a simple 2-part mold putty to create molds to make duplicates. Check out the finished piece and her video process below!
Creating a scale pattern – Video
Serakirah Cosplay used a simple icing tip usually used in cake decorating to create this sharp scale effect in very little time!
Hiding Worbla Seams – Video
Pretzl Cosplay shared this video explaining how she uses extra scraps of Worbla and a sanding tool to hide her seams created during joining pieces, especially when they are built using the sandwich method.
The Folding Method – Video
xx2shy created a video explaining why she’s using the folding method (and how) on her Sylvanas armor, made with Worbla’s Mesh Art in this video!
Creating Triangular Details for Armor – Video
Details on Worbla are often done with scraps rolled into tubes, but Itakoo shows how they make their details with a bead mold, which creates a sharp triangular bevel for their armor.
Fine detailing with Worbla Black – Video
Erza Cosplay shows how she uses thin sections of Worbla’s Black Art to create the iconic Greek ‘wave’ detail on her upcoming costume.
You can also see how she uses a ‘half relief’ method to create impressive detail for her upcoming Sagittarius design.
Attaching Armor Without Visible Straps – Video
The incredibly talented 9Flame Creations created this League of Legends Orianna Costume with Worbla, foam, resin, and lots of time!
In this video below, she explains how she creates a gapless system to attach her armor, in areas where D-rings and straps would not be the best option.
The basics of LED lighting – Video
Kamui Cosplay’s The Book of Cosplay Lights is an excellent resource for adding lights to your costumes. If you want to see a video covering the basics, check out her tutorial below!
You can see how Kamui’s applied LED’s to make an AION glowing book of spells here:
The Sandwich Method – Video
Bambi Cosplay shows the basics of the Sandwich Method for working with Worbla.
We have written instructions on both The Sandwich Method and Folding Worbla as well.
How to Make a Pattern – Video
Making a Pattern by Aurore Cosplay
A great video explaining the basic process of making a pattern for a body part, such as an arm.
We have the rest of her tutorial series on the Making a Bracer page.
Valkyrie Studios shared this video process of patterning and building a breastplate from a dressform.
Making a Pattern by 519geeks
519geeks shared this video on making a pattern for your armor, explaining the process for a chest piece on a model.
There is a full writeup of the process here.
Introductions to Worbla – Video
Starting off we have one of the best introduction videos I have seen by Eric Heart, the Props Master at Triad Stage in North Carolina, who has a book on Prop Making that includes a section on thermoplastics (that you can see here).
This video includes information on working with Worbla’s Finest Art, molding over a form, basic shapes, heating and shaping options, as well as attaching multiple pieces. It also shows the process of creating a bull’s head over a positive mould.
But wait – there’s more!
These videos are some of the first that were created to talk about Worbla, while they’re older they still have a lot of information regarding the basics, so if you’re looking for other starting points, check these out!
How to Worbla: An Introduction by Aurore Cosplay
Discussing heating, shaping, and joining pieces of Worbla together, showing making small detailed pieces to add to larger armor, and how to sandwich Worbla and fun foam.
How to Create Worbla Armor: Coregeek Cosplay & Creations shared this video covering the sandwich method, foam details, rolled edges and shaping items like bracers.
Working with Worbla by Jillian Lynn
Another great video discussing the basics, then shows us Jillian working on a shoulder pauldron from League of Legends.